Dutton Family Tree Updated After ‘1923’ Season 2

The Dutton family tree is pretty complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Yellowstone, 1883 and 1923 fans will appreciate this easy explanation of how James, Jacob and John Dutton are related.

The end of 1923 seemingly locked into place who Kevin Costner’s John Dutton’s grandfather is. While both Alex and Elizabeth were pregnant, only one baby remains on the ranch as the credits for the series rolled. Unfortunately, this baby reality blows up so much of what we previously knew about the lineage.

Related: Will 1923 Have a Season 3?

Here is the full Dutton Family Tree, updated after Season 2 of 1923. In addition to illustrating how we get from James to John (Costner) Dutton, we also removed characters found in the graveyard, but nowhere else.

Yellowstone: How Is James Dutton Related to Jacob Dutton?

The first part of this graphic explains how Jacob Dutton (Harrison Ford) from 1923 and James Dutton (Tim McGraw) from 1883 are related. None of this changed after 1923. Jacob is James’ older brother, something Ford confirmed to Taste of Country.

Notice that the boys had another sibling named Claire Dutton (Dawn Olivieri), as well. During 1883, Claire meets her fate. Up until then, she’s only described as Margaret Dutton’s (Faith Hill) sister-in-law, but since her last name is Dutton, she must be kin to James and Jacob.

The other explanation is that Claire married a third Dutton boy, but that wouldn’t explain why her daughter — the late Mary Abel — has a different last name. What’s more important is this “blue” generation’s kids, as seen here.

Early episodes of Yellowstone show tombstones for Ned and Chance Dutton, who both lived in the mid-to-late 19th century. By watching 1883, we know neither made the trip to Montana with James and Margaret. The opening episode of 1923 reveals that Jacob rushed to save the family upon James’ death. This is circa 1895.

The only reasonable explanation for Ned and Chance is that they were Jacob and Cara’s (Helen Mirren) children, and they died before 1923. However, during Season 1 of 1923, Jack tells Elizabeth his aunt (Cara Dutton) never had kids.

Because of this (and other inconsistencies), we’ve removed them from the family tree. Instead we’re chalking it up to names invented to fill out the family graveyard.

Yellowstone: How Is James Dutton Related to John Dutton Sr.?

It gets confusing here, because there are two unique characters called John Dutton Sr. The first is James Dutton’s son, played by Audie Rick in 1883 and James Badge Dale in 1923. The second is John Dutton’s (Costner) father, played by Dabney Coleman in Yellowstone.

When Alex has her baby, she choose to name him John after Spencer’s late brother. This would all but lock in Dabney Coleman’s John Dutton as Spencer’s child. The problem is this eliminates a generation, making it only six generations from James Dutton to Tate Dutton, instead of seven, as the Crow elder in 1883 predicted (more on that to come).

It also means Coleman’s John was in his 40s when he fathered Costner’s John, and he was in his 90s when he died. Those items aren’t problematic on their own, but the generation skipping (Costner John was described as a fifth generation rancher in S5 Yellowstone but now he’s only fourth) is why those who’ve followed the show are upset with Taylor Sheridan.

Unless there is another generation (and yet another John), it’d appear he got in the car without a map.

Another wrinkle came by way of Elsa’s news that Spencer fathered a child with another woman years after 1923 ends. We know nothing more about this child, but it seems strange to include unless that will matter in the future.

Who Are Peter Dutton and Patience Dutton?

Graphic No. 3 brings us to the modern-day Yellowstone. It also reveals Peter Dutton as John Dutton’s (Costner) brother, a boy who died as a baby (revealed during Season 5 of Yellowstone).

During Season 5, we also see a headstone for Patience Dutton, who lived in the early 20th century. Like we did with Chance and Ned, we’ve removed her from the family tree until there is evidence she existed.

Meet Tate Dutton, the Seventh Generation Dutton:

Finally, we get to the teal generation, which is Tate Dutton, his late baby brother John and — by way of adoption — Jamie Dutton’s son, whose name isn’t 100 percent clear.

Those who watched 1883 remember a Crow elder telling McGraw’s James Dutton that he could have the land he was sent to bury his daughter in, but in seven generations, the tribe would take it back.

As stated earlier, Tate Dutton is now only the sixth generation. Was the crow wrong? Did he mean seven generations of his people?

Yellowstone‘s finale made the “take back” pretty clear, so we’re definitely done counting. As it stands now, the inconsistencies can be explained in one of three ways:

1. The franchise provided bad information.
2. Spencer’s baby John has a baby named John who is actually Dabney Coleman’s John.
3. Elizabeth’s baby is also named John and somehow he comes back to the ranch years after her departure.

As part of Taste of Country’s comprehensive coverage of all things Yellowstone, check out our Dutton Rules podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.